1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to racks upon which articles can be placed for the purpose of air drying and, more particularly, is concerned with an expandable and retractable multiple article drying rack for supporting various articles, for example, various components of a baby bottle assembly, to facilitate air drying thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reusable articles, such as different types of bottles, are cleansed and sterilized in hot water or other cleansing solutions after each use. One such type of bottle is a reusable baby bottle assembly whose components are taken apart for sterilized cleansing after each use. After sterilized cleansing of the bottles is completed, the bottles or the components thereof are typically supported in an inverted orientation to facilitate draining of any remaining hot water or other cleansing solutions therefrom and to promote cooling and drying of the bottles.
Racks of various designs and constructions for supporting articles such as bottles and baby bottle components in inverted orientations have been proposed in the prior patent art. Representative examples of drying racks are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Stepanian (2,419,040), Fromme (2,553,180), Berlener (2,957,585), Gatch (3,255,987), Kassanchuk (4,238,035) and Betts, Sr. (4,485,929) and in French patent to Juniez (771,292).
Of all the aforementioned patented racks, the Kassanchuk rack is the only one specifically designed for drying all of the various components of a baby bottle assembly. This rack has a framework formed by a plurality of U-shaped rods disposed in laterally spaced relation to one another and fixedly retained in such spaced relation by a plurality of horizontal rods being rigidly attached to the U-shaped rods. The components of the baby bottle assembly are supported on the upper ends of the U-shaped rods and within spaces defined between adjacent ones of the horizontal rods.
However, a significant drawback of the Kassanchuk rack is its rigid erected construction which does not allow the rack to be broken down for storage purposes during periods when it is not being used. Consequently, a need still exists for the provision of a drying rack, particularly for baby bottle components, which overcomes the drawback of the Kassanchuk rack without introducing a new drawback in its place.